Saddle tree



April 14', 1936, B. sE'NDERMAN SADDLE TREE Filed July 26, 1955 INVENTOR. Y 552M420 Sava e/mm A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1936 TEIS UNITED SADDLE TREE Bernard Senderman, San'Francisco, Calif.

Application July 26, 1935, Serial No. 33,220

8 Claims.

considerable labor cost since. a large part of the work'must be done by hand; If an attempt were made to cast the saddle tree of solid metal, it would be extremely heavy, and in either of the foregoing cases parts would not be changeable or adjustable to meet individual preferences or requirements of users. And further, either a purchaser must make his selection from standardized stock in which case his personal preferences as to the several elements would not be met; or, the purchaser must have the saddle tree standardized stock saddle which would meet the 7 various individual demands.

Among the objects of this invention is to provide a saddle tree light in weight, which. may be formed from suitable sheet metal such as aluminum, in hollow tubular sections; to provide a reasonable degree of resilience transversely of the saddle tree; to provide a saddle tree which is adjustable to individual measurements of the physical build of the rider and to meet his desire for personal preferences of appearance in all its parts; to provide a saddle tree in which-separate parts may be replaced by units, and to improve generally upon saddle tree devices.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, all of which will be more apparent as this descrlption proceeds, the invention is exemplified in one form in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended,'it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and details of construction of the apparatus may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. 7

To more clearly comprehend the invention, reference is directed to the accompanying drawing I wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of thesaddle tree of this invention, showing in dotted lines the adjustable portion of the cantle seat.

Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section on line IIII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on line IV-IV of Fig. 3. V

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section on'line VV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section on line VI -VI of Fig. 2.

Fig. '7 is a transverse vertical section on line VIIVII of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing wherein like. characters of reference designate correspondingparts, I0 indicates generally the saddle tree of the invention which is provided with a pair of elongated relatively spaced flank bars M which are made of. suitable material and in this exemplification are illustrated and described as tubular members as indicated I2, adopting the usual conformation to suit the contour of the body of a horse. Intermediate the ends of the flank "bars the wall thereof may be inwardly recessed as at l3, to provide inset spaces for stirrup strap-s so that the outer face of the straps will lie flush with the face of the flank bars. Each of the flank bars is provided at its rearward end with a track or ledge M for purposes hereinafter described.

At the forward end of the flank bars they are connected by a saddle bow 1-5 which, in the form exemplified herein, is a wish-bone bracket having legs i6 which are releasably attached at their lower ends to the forward portion of the flank bars by means of cap screws H which are threaded into lugs l8 within the tubular flank bars. The legs [6 converge upwardly and connect at the saddle bow l5, and are provided at their apex with an upwardly extending horn I9 which has a removable cap orhead 26, the latter permitting the attachment of any kind of a cap to the horn which may meet the individual desires of the rider. By this releasable arrangement of the saddle bow, not only is the horn releasably attached to a firm base, but also the horn may be changed to suit the individual desires of a purchaser and if broken from any cause it can be readily replaced.

An interchangeable and replaceable pommel 2| is provided, said pommel consisting of a hollow body as at 22 having an opening23 at its top through which the head and neck of the horn may pass and also having an opening in its under side as at 24 to allow the legs it of the horn to pass inside and be covered from view by the body 2| of the pommel. The pommel rests upon a ridge 25 of the horn and its forks 26 extend downwardly on the outside of each flank plate and are connected to the forward end portion of the flank bars by cap screw bolt 2'3 and lug 26 The opening 26 is provided in the inner face of the flank bar to receive the bolt and make it accessible with a socket wrench. In this manner the pommel also serves as an inclined brace to the horn, the latter being the unit of the saddle about which a rope is hitched and upon which great stress is exerted in the circumstances under which this type of saddle is ordinarily used, such as in roping cattle or horses, or in pulling a wagon out of a mire. If desired, the pommel and horn may be made integrally, as would be obvious from the plan view of Fig. 3, but because of the distinctive preferences of purchasers for individual selection of parts, it is preferred to form the horn and pommel separately as shown in the structure of Fig. 2.

Rearwardly, the flank plates are connected by a cantle generally indicatedZ'I. the usual up-right back portion 28 which is provided at its rim with eyelets 29 for lacing a leather covering thereto. The cantle, like other portions of the saddle tree is a hollow member as at 30 preferably made of sheet metal, the rear wall of which is bent rearwardly upon itself at the base of the cantle as at 3| to provide a reinforcement, and to which a rear jockey may be attached if desired. The front wall of the cantle is extended forwardly at its base as at 32, and may then be folded back upon itself to connect with the rear reinforcement 3!, and thus provide seat 33. The seat 33 and the reinforcement 3| are thus of two thicknesses of material and provide a very strong base for the cantle. The seat 33 is arcuate in transverse section as at 33 and forms a semi-sleeve adapted for sliding longitudinally along the upper face of the rear portion of the flank bars, said sleeve having its edges 34 riding in the track l4. The cantle and seat are adjustable longitudinally of the flank bars by means of slots 35 formed in the spaced walls of each of the flank bars, the outer wall of the flank bars being recessed as at 36 to countersink nuts 31 which engage bolts 38 which have countersunk heads 39 in the side wall of the arcuate portion of seat 33. This adjustability of the seat not only permits of adjustment in the displacement of the weight of the rider relative to the horse, but also allows of variation of the space for the rider himself, particularly with relation to the changeability of pommels. Some pommels are comparatively flat at the rear face thereof; other pommels have a very large swell at the rear face. Therefore, the adjustability of the cantle has advantages not alone with relation to the physical build of the rider in the seat but also relative to the physical build of the rider with relation to the type of pommel em ployed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: V

1. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of elongated spaced flank bars, a saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof, a releasably mounted longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof, and means for releasably fixing the cantle to the flank bars.

The cantle has 2. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of tubular elongated spaced flank bars, a saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof, a releasably mounted longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof, and means for releasably fixing the cantle to the flank bars.

3. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of elongated spaced flank bars, a releasably mounted saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof, a releasably mounted longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof, and means for releasably fixing the cantle to the flank bars.

4. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of tubular elongated spaced flank bars, a releasably mounted saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof, a releasably mounted longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof, and means for releasably flxing the cantle to the flank bars.

5. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of tubular elongated spaced flank bars, a releasably mounted pommel extending upwardly from and connecting the forward portion of the flank bars terminating at its upper portion in a horn, and a cantle connecting the flank bars at a rearward portion thereof, said cantle and flank bars having operatively therebetween releasable looking a means whereby the cantle may be adjusted longitudinally of the flank bars.

6. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising a pair of elongated spaced flank bars, a releasably mounted sadidle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof and having an upwardly extending horn, a releasably mounted pommel extending upwardly at the saddle bow and having an opening at its upper portion for receiving a horn therethrough, a releasably mounted longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof, and means for releasably flxing the cantle to the flank bars.

'7. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising, a pair of elongated relatively spaced flank bars each having a longitudinal track at a rear portion, a saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof, a longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof and slidably engaging the tracks of the flank bars, and means for releasably fixing the cantle to the flank bars.

8. As an article of manufacture, a fabricated saddle tree comprising, a pair of elongated relatively spaced flank bars each having a longitudinal track at a rear portion, a releasably mounted saddle bow connecting the flank bars at a forward portion thereof and having an upwardly extending horn, a releasably mounted pommel extending upwardly at the saddle bow and having an opening at its upper portion for receiving a horn therethrough, a longitudinally adjustable cantle connecting the flank bars at the rearward portion thereof and slidably engaging the tracks of the flank bars, and means for releasably fixing the cantle to the flank bars.

BERNARD SENDERMAN. 

